Midterm 2 Flashcards
(113 cards)
What is biological evolution
Evolution is the change that occurs in the characteristics of organisms in a population over time
Theory of evolution
All modern organisms are related to each other and arose from a common ancestor
Theory of common descent
Modern organisms can be arranged on a “tree” of relationships based on similarities in morphology, development, and genes
modern biological classification system
classifies organisms based on physical similarities between them. supports theory of common descent
How do homologies in characteristics support theory of evolution?
- similarities in the underlying structures of organisms and vestigial structures (i.e. appendix) are difficult to explain except through theory of common descent
- modern data on similarities of DNA sequences match hypothesized evolutionary relationship suggested by anatomical similarities
how do details of embryonic development support theory of evolution
similarities in embryonic development and structures among diverse organisms are best explained as a result of common ancestry
what is biogeography, how does it support the theory of evolution?
the study of the geographical distribution of organisms.
-species that appear related physically are often close to each other geographically
How does fossil record provide direct evidence of evolutionary changes in species over time?
Fossilized remains of extinct species in many groups demonstrate progression of forms from ancient types to more modern types.
Why is theory of evolution considered the best explanation for the origin of humans and other organisms?
- evidence supports hypothesis that organisms have changed over time and are related to each other
- shared characteristics of all of life, universality of DNA and relationship between DNA and proteins support common ancestry theory.
Observations that led to inference of natural selection
- individuals in a population very, and some of this variation can be passed on to offspring
- Not all individuals born in a population survive to adulthood and not all adults produce maximum number of offspring possible
- Survival and reproduction is not random. Adaptations increase an individuals fitness.
fitness
the organisms chance of survival or reproduction
how does natural selection cause evolutionary change?
increased fitness of individuals with particular adaptations cases the adaptation to become more prevalent in a population over generations
examples natural selection leads to evolution of population
- artificial selection (humans deliberately control organisms fitness) causes evolution of different breeds of animals and plants
- populations exposed to environmental changes, in lab and nature, have been shown to evolve traits that give them better fitness
how does natural selection work on allele frequency in a population?
- modern definition of evolution is genetic change in population of organisms
- alleles that code for adaptations become more common in a population over generations as a result of natural selection
why doesn’t natural selection create “perfectly adapted” organisms
natural selection can only act on variants currently available in the population. natural selection makes organism better adapted not perfectly adapted as a result of trade-offs, natural selection does not push in direction of a predetermine “goal”
3 patterns of selection
selection can cause traits in a population to change in a particular direction. However, in some environments it may cause certain traits to resist change and in other environments cause multiple variants to evolve.
why is combination drug therapy an effective tool to combat drug resistance?
- disease causing organisms can evolve resistance to antibiotics because they consist of multiple variants that have differential survival when exposed to various drugs; evolve drug resistance through natural selection
- mutant organism that is resistant to several different antibiotics is relatively unlikely so combination therapy can reduce risk of antibiotic resistance evolving
- as a result of trade-offs, varieties of disease causing organisms that are multiple drug resistant are less likely to survive and reproduce under normal conditions than are non resistant varieties. resistant organisms are therefore less transmissible than nonresistant varieties.
define biological species
a group of individuals that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Biological species are reproductively isolated from each other, thus separating the gene pool of species.
Reproductive isolation
maintained by prefertilization factors such as differences in mating behavior or timing or post fertilization factors such as hybrid inviability or sterility
describe 3 steps of speciation
- populations of a species become separated from each other
- populations diverge from each other and reproductive isolation between populations evolves
explain how “race” in biological species can be defined using genealogical species concept
biological races are populations of a single species that have diverged from each other but have not become reproductively isolated.
list evidence that modern humans are young species that arose in Africa
- morphology of human ancestors in fossil record provides evidence modern species is app. 200000 years old
- genetic evidence indicates modern humans have limited genetic diversity a characteristic of young species and that the oldest populations (containing most genetic diversity) are found in Africa
How is Hardy-Weinberg theory used in studies of population genetics.
- Provides a rule for calculating allele frequency from genotype frequency
- if the assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg (no natural selection, no migration, and random mating of individuals within a population) are violated, allele frequency will not match expectations
evidence human races are not deep biological divisions within human species
- modern humans do not show evidence they have been isolated from each other long enough to form different races.
- other genetic evidence indicates that human groups have been missing for thousands of years.